Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I say this in a genuine, unpatronising and non-party political way, because I think there much consensus, that the Minister is bringing huge energy, commitment and ability to this task and that he is really giving it momentum. It is a necessary and important exercise and it is very much not before its time. The Minister was instrumental in this, because he had the vision to set up the commission and now he is implementing the findings of the commission. It is a great day’s work and I am certainly very proud of it. I am very proud of our Defence Forces. We have great personnel and great people there. We are all proud of them. They are very much part of our national armoury, or whatever the term is, that holds the institutions of our State and our society together. We are very proud of them and they need to know that we are doing the right thing by them. That has been made clear today. It was also made clear earlier at the joint committee, which I had the privilege of attending with the Minister and some colleagues.I want to move to some aspects of the report. As the Minister pointed out at the outset, LOA1 would be maintaining the status quo, and that could not happen without increased expenditure because of inflation etc. That is not where we are going or where the Minister wants to go and we are aiming for LOA2, which will involve up to €2 billion of expenditure over a six-year period. That expenditure will take account of inflation etc. so it is not just an amount that will be eaten away by inflation, which is very important. This year's budget allocation for defence is €1.174 billion, an increase of €67 million. We have a capital expenditure increase of 35% to €176 million among the Army. Among the project's this funding will help is the development of a primary radar capacity and the Defence Forces pay and pension allocation has increased to €823 million.

I would like the Minister to comment on the following matter because it is crucial and he made the point, which I had in my notes, that the real issue is personnel. Equipment etc. is important but one needs one's personnel and one needs them motivated, properly paid and properly respected and then they will use the equipment properly and do a good job abroad etc. I ask the Minister to comment on the pay issue, how he sees that progressing and when it will be addressed. The point is made in the report that we should have an overall figure for pay and not have so many layered things that are not intelligible to people, particularly from a recruitment point of view. I ask the Minister to comment on the issue of pay in his response. It is an important area and the fact that there is a commitment in the budget to increase the pay and pensions allocation is an indication of where we are going. Funding for key posts recommended by the commission is also available. It is good progress and I would like to know about the pay deal.

The recommendation of the commission that we would have one third of the personnel female is an important one. As the Minister said in the committee earlier, it will have the effect of getting over the gender, inequality and discriminatory issues that have recently come to the forefront in stark terms. It would be a good initiative to have one third female membership. If the Minister is responding later he might suggest how he hopes to achieve this. It is important that we have one third female participation and it is also important that we retain our existing people. That goes to the question of pay and motivation, which will come with the new equipment etc.

The commission has reported that the Minister has accepted the recommendation that we look to minority groupings in recruitment. The Minster might comment on recruitment among the Traveller community. I have the privilege of being a member of the Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community and the idea of employment of our Traveller community is crucial to giving them the dignity they should have. I ask the Minister to comment on what could be done in that area and if he has a vision for that area and for the inclusion of members of the Traveller community. I noted that in the committee earlier, in response to Senator Ó Donnghaile, whose lines I do not want to steal as he can deal with this later, the Minister adverted to recruitment in Northern Ireland and as an Ulster person I would welcome that too. There is a desire there to join, and I would welcome measures in that regard.

Pay and promotion are important motivational factors and that is why I am looking for the Minister to comment on same. A gender adviser who might deal with some of the difficulties will be appointed. Those difficulties were recently cited in stark terms. I understand that part of the recommendations is a major improvement in equipment. The Minister might get a chance in his response at the end to elaborate further on that issue.

There are a number of issues. Before the commission reported, when the committee went on a field visit to the Curragh and met the personnel there of all ranks, it was clear that there was a need for change. The war in Ukraine brings into focus the question of our capacity and ability to defend ourselves. I am in favour of our neutral stance but we have to have a defence capability in the country. We have to be fit to defend what is under the sea, including our pipelines etc., and secure them, and we have to be fit to deal with a potential cyber war. All of that is important and that area merits the response the commission is receiving from the Minister and the Government.

This is a radical response to what was a real problem. If I had not been a member of the committee and if I had not been around the country meeting the personnel I would not realise the gravity of it. This is the kind of radical response that was necessary. I wish the Minister well in the report's further implementation and I hope he will be back to tell us about the stages of that implementation.